Chapter 3: The Incredible Intangible Window Boy

"I have to say I still don't agree with this, Professor," Scott Summers repeated as the group headed for the infirmary.

"I know that, Scott," Xavier replied patiently.  "But I have hope Nate will cooperate, so long as I ask before attempting to scan his mind."

"And what about the mental backlash you said he caused when he arrived?" Ororo asked.

Xavier tapped his chin lightly.  "That was a mental equivalent of…making 'elbow room', I think.  Some telepaths like to occupy a certain amount of 'space' on the psychic plane, and Nate was reclaiming his.  I would guess he's not used to being around other telepaths, and certainly not two at once.  All the more reason we should explain how things work around the school."

"And if he decides to be hostile?" Jean asked quietly.

"Then we can only hope that the psi-dampeners in the infirmary can contain his powers, Jean.  If not, I will need your assistance to calm him."

Jean honestly didn't like the idea of controlling Nate, especially if he was as powerful as she suspected.  However, she had no idea that her worry was quite pointless.

For when they entered the infirmary, all they found was the bed where Nate should've been, and a decidedly unfunny note that read: "To Whom It May Concern:  Had an Errand to Run.  Back Soon.  Sincerely, Nate."

* * * * *

Kitty Pryde did not consider herself a morning person.  It honestly took quite a bit to get her going in the morning, and she knew that better than anyone else. 

Her alarm clock didn't suffice, as all it took was an intangible finger to quiet it.

So Kitty had made a habit of phasing through the ceiling and getting an eyeful of the rising sun to wake her up quickly and properly.  The phasing itself took a certain amount of attention, as did making sure she didn't get caught in an early morning wind and fly off.

And since it was morning and the roof, she never ran into anyone else.

Kitty was clearly shocked when she phased through the roof this morning and came face to face with a boy.  Fortunately, she was still intangible, and considering how fast he was moving at the time, he would've passed through her with little effect to either of them.

However, they both stopped in midair, studying each other with curiosity and some mild alarm.

Kitty caught her breath first.  "Hi," she hazarded, backing up a pace.

"Morning," he offered warily, absently tightening his grip on the black stuffed bear under his left arm.

Kitty's gaze drifted to the bear, and combining that with the fact she'd never seen the boy before, made an educated guess.  "Nice to meet you, Nate…?" she continued, stretching out her hand.

"Ditto, Kitty," he replied at once, shaking her hand firmly.

She blinked.  "How…?"

"Sorry.  Reflex, really."  Nate quickly withdrew his hand.  "Could you tell me where I could find-"

"Illyana?  Down the hall, make a right, second door on the left."

"Ah.  Thanks."  He paused uncertainly.  "Sorry to meet and run, but I am in a hurry, and…"

"S'okay," Kitty interrupted.  "I was just going for a morning wal—er…flight."

"Cool," he said approvingly.  "Me, too.  Maybe we could go together sometime.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bear to return."  With that, he dove through the roof and was gone.

Since there was no sonic scream from her roommate, Kitty assumed that Theresa wasn't up yet, which was probably a good thing.  Witnessing Kitty phasing through their door had drawn such a reaction for the first week they'd roomed together, which, fortunately, had helped Kitty learn that intangible people didn't hear as good as tangible ones did.  There was a trick to focusing enough to become intangible while Theresa was wailing, but it had pretty much become instinct for Kitty now.  She was getting to the point where she could watch Terry's mouth and phase out a split-second before the painful sound waves hit.

Honestly, it was pretty easy, as Terry had a big mouth, anyway.

* * * * * 

Illyana woke up find Miko's nose pressed to hers.  Smiling, she hugged him tight and heard an odd crinkling noise.  Turning the bear over, she found a note taped to his back: "Dear Yana:  Thanks for the company, but Miko missed you.  Don't worry, I'll be around.  Your pal, Window Boy."

Grinning hugely, Illyana jumped out of bed and shook Jubilee awake.  "Look!  Nate left me a note!"

"S'great, squirt," Jubilee mumbled from beneath her blanket.  "Now, go 'way.  Too early to get up."

"But Miko's back!"

"Whoopdy-friggin'-doo, Yana.  Go back to bed."

"But-"

A bag of jellybeans flew out of the blanket and thudded lightly against Illyana's PJs.

Illyana forgot all about waking her friend and went to get dressed, munching happily all the while.

* * * * *

Professor Xavier had just dismissed his morning Chemistry class when there was a sharp knock on his window.  Considering the window itself was three stories up, this was fairly impressive, especially since Xavier had sensed no one approaching.  Even now, there was a decidedly large "gray spot" in the psychic plane that he could not decipher.  He had never felt anything like it, and doubted (and hoped) he never would again.

"Come in," Xavier said softly, turning his wheelchair to face the window.

Instantly, in a rather impressive show of telekinesis, a young man floated through the glass and touched down in front of the startled man.  "What?  You run a school for mutants and you've never seen anyone float through a window?" he asked innocently.

Xavier regained his composure rather quickly.  "You'll have to forgive me.  With those stundets, at least, I am well aware of their mutants gifts.  You, on the other hand, Nathan, are-"

"Wrong," the boy interrupted with a frown as he crossed the room to stare at some paintings on the far wall.  "My name," he said firmly, "is—well, WAS…Nathaniel.  But the man who gave me that name no longer exists, and so neither does it.  Nate is what I call myself…and what you'll call me if you expect an answer."

Xavier nodded.  "Very well, Nate.  I'll get straight to the point.  How is it you happened to arrive here in the way you did?"

"It wasn't one of my better ideas, I'll admit."  Nate turned to face the professor.  "I don't usually make a habit of flying during storms, but I had a good reason.  I didn't mean to crash here, but nearly getting hit by lightning can throw you off course a bit…"

"I imagine it would," Xavier agreed, sounding sympathetic.  "No one here is angry about that.  We would like to know, as with all our new arrivals, where you came from and what you've been doing until now."

"Ah.  Thought you'd be getting around to that."  Nate walked up to the man and leaned forward, lowering his head.  "See this?"

"…see what?" Xavier asked cluelessly.

Nate sighed and pointed to his unruly brown hair.  "This.  See the streak of white in the middle?"

Xavier blinked.  He could've sworn the streak wasn't there a second ago, but… "Yes.  Strangely similar to young Rogue's…"

"Rogue.  No idea who that is, but I'm guessing they didn't get it at a salon."

"No.  She went through…a very traumatic experience."

"Okay.  Same thing with me, multiplied by about a thousand."  Nate stood up straight.  "Which translates into 'I reeeally don't feel like talking about my past' in layman's terms."

"…fair enough," Xavier said at length.  "Your past is, after all, your own.  But understand that it will be difficult to help you without some idea of where-"

"Actually, helping me is very simple," Nate interrupted, and not rudely.  "You help me locate one person, and I'm out of your hair…er…head.  Sorry."

"No offense taken.  Am I correct in assuming this person is a mutant?"

Nate nodded.  "Yup."

Xavier arched an eyebrow.  "You realize, of course, that with no knowledge of who YOU are, helping you locate another mutant is not exactly high on my list of priorities.  For all I know, you could be a mutant bent on destroying all others.  And believe me when I say you wouldn't be the first."

"Well, that's kinda the thing," Nate said uneasily.  "I'm not BENT on destroying anyone.  But if I don't find this one person, I will—inadvertently, mind you—destroy about half the world.  So it's kinda high on MY list of priorities…"

* * * * *

Jubilee was having a very good Tuesday.

First, she'd answered a very tough question in Ms. Munroe's Biology class.  No one else had known the right answer, or at least, no one else had given it before she did.  Ms. Munroe had seemed pleased, too.

Then she'd beaten Bobby in a foot race in Phys. Ed.  Which was really fun, since Bobby had tried to cheat by using an ice slide, and she'd still beaten the pants off him.  Not literally, but the idea had crossed her mind once or twice, mostly as a prank for a rainy day.  Mr. Logan had even awarded her with a rare smile, and Jubilee was slowly beginning to think that maybe he was cooler than he usually let on.

And then, out of the blue, Professor X canceled sixth period Chemistry.  He was an awfully nice guy and all, but only certain people could get really excited about science, and Jubilee was not typically one of them.  Anyway, it gave her a free period (which was always a plus), as well as a chance to catch up to Illyana (and Piotr, since he was never too far away).

She found the Russian siblings outside in the gazebo, taking in the atmosphere of the gardens.  Illyana was stretched out on a bench, doing her best to sketch the many butterflies that insisted on fluttering around her.  It was good to see her trying so hard at anything, especially something that wasn't Window Boy-related.  Frankly, Jubilee was nearly sick of him already, and she hadn't even met the guy.      

Piotr was seated nearby, watching faithfully over his sister.  There was something about his constant gaze that put one in mind of a huge guard dog.  Jubilee, however, knew that Piotr was probably the best guardian Illyana could ask for, and then some. 

She was going to stay back for a minute and just watch them, but Illyana spotted her and waved her over excitedly.

"Jubilee!  Look what I did!"  Illyana thrust her sketchpad into her friend's face.

It was honestly not that different from the doodles many of the other younger kids came up with.  But Jubilee easily identified the orange and black butterflies (minus the color) sitting on what was probably a log.  The fact that she could tell right away what the subject was proved that Illyana definitely shared some of her brother's artistic talent.

"This is really good, Yana," Jubilee said approvingly.  "You did this all by yourself?"

Illyana nodded proudly.  "I drew them, but it was Miko's idea."

Jubilee spared a glance at the ever-present black bear, which was propped up neatly on the bench.  "Really?  I was under the impression he didn't say very much."

"Oh, he only talks to me," Illyana replied matter-of-factly, missing the grin that Jubilee aimed at Piotr.

"Ya don't say."  Jubilee turned to Illyana's brother.  "You draw anything, Petey?"

Piotr nodded slightly and handed over his sketchpad, which had been hidden completely beneath his muscular arms.  "Another for your collection, Jubilee."

"Oh, wow," Jubilee breathed, her eyes lighting up.  "It's beautiful…"

"What?  What?!" Illyana whined, pulling at Jubilee's coat.  "Let me see!"

"Oh…um…it's nothing you haven't seen before, Yana.  Trust me."  Jubilee smiled wickedly.

"Pleeease!  You know how much I love Piotr's work!"

"Well…okay.  But I warned you."  Jubilee surrendered the sketchpad.

Illyana grabbed the pad eagerly and studied it.  Her cheeks grew red as she slowly peered over the top at her brother.  "Piotr, you promised you wouldn't!"

He shook his head.  "Forgive me, little snowflake.  I could not help myself."

"You always say that!" Illyana complained, stomping her little foot for emphasis.

"But it is always true," Piotr replied with a smile.

Illyana blushed, very aware of the fact Jubilee was grinning at them.  "You've got to stop drawing me!  You KNOW what I look like!"

"That's not the point, Yana," Jubilee pointed out.  "Don't you like it?"

"Of course I do; Piotr drew it," Illyana answered automatically, as if that were an obvious fact.  "But can't you draw other people?"

"I do," Piotr protested mildly.  "Just yesterday I sketched Kitty between classes..."  He trailed off upon seeing Jubilee grinning hugely at him with a telltale look on her face.

Illyana pouted.  "But then you always do ME again!  Why?!"

"Why not?" Pioter asked simply.  "To do my best work, I must at least have a fondness for what I draw.  My best pictures will always be of you, little snowflake."

Illyana blushed and looked away shyly.  "Piotr…"

The big Russian reached down and picked her up.  "I will never be ashamed to show that I love you, Illyana.  I am sorry if it embarrasses you, but I cannot help what I am."

She looked up from the huge arm that cradled her to his chest.  "…couldn't you just tell me first, next time?" Illyana asked in a tiny voice that seemed impossible to resist.

"I would prefer not to.  Poses are not very natural.  I wish to capture you as you truly are."

"But…you always make me look like…" Illyana began, but trailed off.

"Like what?" Jubilee asked.

Illyana searched for a suitable word.  "Like…a fairy, or an angel, or something."

Jubilee grinned.  "I dunno, Yana.  Sometimes I have to make sure you haven't sprouted wings on me."

"You're teasing me!" Illyana cried accusingly, but there was laughter in her eyes.

"Yeah, I am.  You know Petey draws you cuz he loves you.  And hey, if you don't want the sketch, then I'll keep it with all the others of you.  These are better than any pictures I could ever take myself."  Jubilee tucked the pad under her arm.  "Oh, did you guys hear?  The Prof canceled sixth period today.  Weird, huh?"

"It must have been something important," Piotr murmured thoughtfully.

Jubilee bit her lip.  "You don't think Magneto got out, do you?"

"Who?" Illyana asked.

"Nutty old friend of the Prof's.  Has a thing for strapping girls into…um…never mind.  It's probably something else, anyway."  Jubilee made a mental note to hit Marie up for info and see if she'd heard anything from Logan.  "Yana, don't you have a session with Ms. Munroe in a few minutes?"

"Oh!  I forgot what time it was!"  Illyana scrambled off Piotr's arm, quickly collecting her pad and her trusty Miko. 

Jubilee shifted her book bag slightly.  "Here, I'll stick your butterflies up on our wall for ya."

"Really?  Thanks!"  Illyana gave her the pad and waved at them as she hurried back to the school.

Jubilee waited until Illyana was gone to clear her throat.  "So.  Kitty, huh?"

Piotr blushed and lowered his head.  "Somehow, I knew mentioning that around you was a mistake.  You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Course not.  While I am shocked and very jealous that you didn't choose ME as your latest subject, it is good that you're becoming interested in a girl other than Yana."  She patted his shoulder.  "It will be hard to overlook the fact that Kitty's almost as cute as me, and that you've fallen for someone else.  You might not see me much, since I'm not sure how long it will take my broken heart to get over you…"

"If you want me to draw you again, Jubilee, you only have to ask."

"Good.  See you at seven."  Jubilee walked away humming to herself, admiring the simple yet fascinating sketch.  As usual, Piotr had captured his subjects perfectly.  Illyana was frozen in the act of leaning over her pad, tucking her hair behind her ear as she worked.  The cutest part was that Miko was leaning on her shoulder, as if giving his silent approval. 

* * * * *

Ororo smiled warmly as Illyana burst into the attic.

"Sorry I'm late, Ms. Munroe!" Illyana gasped as she ran in.  "Me and Piotr and Jubilee were outside, and we started talking about stuff and I drew the bestest-"

"Breathe, Illyana," Ororo wisely suggested.

The girl took a deep breath as she sat down next to Ororo on the couch.  "Sorry…"

"It's fine, child," Ororo assured her, patting the girl's hand.  "You're here, and that's all that matters.  We can start whenever you're ready."

Illyana took a few more seconds to relax before nodding.  "Okay, I'm ready."

"I see that Miko has gained a bit of weight," the woman observed.

Illyana blinked in confusion, before realizing her teacher was referring to the note from Nate.  "Oh!  See, I got it this morning when Nate returned Miko, but I didn't wanna take it off, so I left it there."

"…and how was it that he ended up with Miko?"

Illyana beamed at her.  "I let Nate borrow him for a bit."

"I see.  Why did you do that?"

"Cuz he didn't know anyone here, and I remember how scared I was when I first got here."

"Feeling alone can be very scary," Ororo agreed with a sympathetic nod.

"I gave Miko to Nate so he wouldn't be lonely and scared and stuff."

"That was a very nice thing you did for him.  But why?  You don't know him at all."

Illyana shrugged.  "I'd want someone to do it for me.  Even if I didn't know them.  It's always nice when you get something from a friend."

"And is Nate your friend?"

"I think so.  Except for the note and when he was asleep, I haven't really talked to him."

"Well, we should fix that, shouldn't we?" asked a voice beside her.

Illyana gasped and spun around as Nate floated up through the floor.

"Sorry to interrupt your session and all," Nate apologized to Ororo.  "But Professor Xavier thought it might be a good idea…"

Ororo nodded.  "Please feel free to join us, Nate."

"Thanks."  Nate sat down on the other side of Illyana, who still hadn't said a word, since her mouth was open in shock.  "Um…you really shouldn't gape, Yana.  Something might fly in there."  He gently closed her mouth for her.

Illyana blinked a few times.  "You're here," she said softly.

Nate smiled.  "Last time I checked, yeah."

"How did you DO that?!  Only Kitty can do that!"

Nate chuckled softly.  "It's a form of telekinesis.  It only looks like what Kitty does, but it's a bit trickier than that.  See, she just makes herself intangible and floats through.  I can't do that, so I have to rearrange the molecules in the floor to be able to float through it.  Flying's easy compared to that."

"…okay," Illyana said slowly.

"It's just a different way of doing the same thing, Yana.  Kitty walks through the wall, but I walk around it.  Just…not ALL the way around it.  Wait, now I'm confusing myself…"

"Maybe explaining how you fly would be better," Ororo suggested.  "For example, I fly by summoning and riding wind currents."

"And I do it by turning my teleki—um, by lifting…myself with my mind."

"Could you lift me?" Illyana asked in awe.

"Sure, but I don't need my powers for that.  It'd be easier just to hold you while I flew."

"Can we go flying right now?!" Illyana pleaded.  

"Um…don't you want to finish your session first?" Nate asked, grinning nervously at Ororo.

"A change of scenery might do us all some good," Ororo said as she stood up.  "I think a nice flight around the grounds is a very good idea."

"…are all the teachers here this cool?" Nate whispered loudly to Illyana.

"Nope, just her," Illyana replied with a grin.